Changing Old Industries: New Faces in Family Law

Changing Old Industries: Young Faces in Family Law

It is 9 AM, and the world seems overcast in gray. It’s raining, and as the soft pitter-patter of water droplets hits the window outside his office, Josh looks at me and says;

Why would you ever want to start a business?

This fundamental question is at the heart of our discussion about being a disruptor in an old industry.

Origin Story

In 2013, Joshua Stern founded The Law Offices of Joshua E. Stern. At the very young age of 30, he recounts his foray into family law and how it changed his life forever.

I always wanted to be a litigator since I was 19. I went to law school; I planned my life around it. When the economy crashed in 2009, and there weren’t any jobs, I found myself wanting to find a place to litigate. That place was family law. It’s been a gift to me because it has allowed me to work with families to resolve what can be complex emotional issues. I didn’t seek it out, but I’m so glad it found me.

As a young attorney, Josh waited by the phone for almost 3 months before he ever received a phone call for a consultation for his new business. Once he did, he was worked tirelessly day in and out to make his place in the market.

There are still times when I stay up at night trying to figure out how to grow the business.

Now, five years later, The Law Offices of Joshua Stern has expanded to support four litigators and has offices in Chicago and Evanston.

Being A Disrupter

Before Joshua started his practice, he worked for another family law firm. Through his time there, he learned that the family law industry lacks transparency for clients and often clients are overcharged for their work. Because of this, he wanted to run things differently. He does not charge fees for work, and he consistently uploads long-form content on his blog to educate the public about common practices in the industry.

To me, being a disrupter is about being ok being different. If something does not make sense, I chage the process so that it does. It is essential that as a bsiness owner I can lead the discssioon of the way I place myself in my industry. There is too mcuh misinformation about my industry and clients have lost trust in their attornies.

Josh centers a lot of his businesses processes on this ideology. He has created systems that champion efficiency and transparency with clients and staff.

Sign of The Times

I have struggled with getting more of the market share because I am so young. However, I see opportunities for other attorneys don’t and that is in social media.

Following Josh’s core value of transparency, he is a big believer in content marketing and uploads posts on social media every day about divorce, co-parenting, marriage, and prenups. By sharing this information Josh hopes to change the idea that lawyers are liars or bad people.